It has been a crazy month of college basketball and the NCAA Tournament. At this present moment, we have gone from 68 teams, t0 just 4. Within 8 days, a new champion will be named. The remaining teams include Michigan State, Texas Tech, Auburn, and Virginia. The Tournament was filled with upsets and victories. Let’s take the time to review some of the top moments from this year’s March Madness Tournament.
1. Let’s talk about Murray State!
Perhaps the first real upsets of the tournament came when Murray State upset Marquette. Marquette was granted the 5 seed while Murray State was given the 12. Murray State not only beat Marquette, but blew them away beating them 83-64. Although this was a 12 seed v. 5 seed game many people were not surprised and that was due to Murray State’s point guard Ja Morant’s incredible athletic ability.
Ja Morant has received national recognition as one of the best players in the country for college basketball. Therefore, many predicted the upset against Marquette. After Murray State’s big win, people shared their thoughts on twitter.
2. The Lowest Seed in the Second Round
Everybody remembers last year when UMBC had their miracle game where they beat the number 1 seed Virginia – the first time a 16 seed has every beat a one seed. In the past there have been other times when a team with a 15 or 14 seed makes it beyond the first round. In 2016, #15 Middle Tennessee beat #2 Michigan State which resulted in a lot of broken brackets after just the first round. This year, the lowest seed was #13 UC Irvine when they defeated Kansas State with a score of 70-64. This resulted in a lot of broken brackets and was one of the bigger upsets of this year’s tournament.
This would be the team’s first ever win in NCAA tournament history. They caught the eyes of the nation.
3. Virginia’s Comeback Run after 2018
Virginia made history last year – And not in a good way. Last year, the University of Virginia Cavaliers suffered an embarrassing loss to the UMBC Golden Retrievers. It was the first time a one seed had lost to a sixteen seed in the NCAA Tournament’s history. This year, the Cavaliers came back ready to play.
Although their first round game against 16 seed G-Webb began off shaky, they pushed their way through to the Final Four. Their most recent game was against #3 Purdue which ended in a close finish in overtime. In the last six years, UVA has earned itself a #1 seed on four different occasions. However, they have not reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament since 1984.
What comes next for UVA is uncertain. They are scheduled to play #5 Auburn next Saturday in the Semi-Final Round of the tournament. At this point, UVA is the highest seed remaining in the tournament, with the others being a #2, #3, and #5. Many people had Virginia taking the whole championship home while others elected Duke, UNC, and Gonzaga to win. When Duke finally lost, many people took to twitter to share their excitement. Below is an example.
What comes next? What is the talk?
Here are the facts. Next Monday, 4/8, a new NCAA Champion will be named. This Saturday, #3 Texas Tech will play #2 Michigan State while #5 Auburn will play #1 Virginia.
Duke was already picked as the favorite to win. But, in typical March Madness fashion, nothing ever goes as expected.
What do you think? Who will win? Comment below!
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